The Little
Theatre has been a successful and integral part of downtown Rochester since
1982 — long enough for its co-founder, Bill Coppard, to have made a number of
observations about issues facing the community.
He’s had no
qualms over the years about sharing his informed opinions and ideas for
solutions with those in the position to effect change. Some no doubt think
Coppard a visionary, while others would probably call him a troublemaker. But
maybe all would agree that his intimate knowledge of and respected position in
our city make his ideas worth contemplating.
Last week’s
installment of the interview with Coppard primarily focused on the state of
independent film exhibition, and as the first part wound down, he was
reflecting on the importance of giving back to the community. This week, the
Little’s retired executive director discusses what he would do if he were
mayor, why he really shouldn’t be, and the satisfaction of turning your dreams
into reality, even if others believe it just can’t be done.
City: Is the Little
obligated to pay real estate property taxes?
Coppard: Well, we’re a 501(c)(3), and — you know, I’m not saying
it’s guaranteed that we would pay taxes, but traditionally, a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit corporation that owns real estate doesn’t pay taxes. We didn’t
want to do that. I didn’t feel that we should take the theater off the tax
rolls.
But the
theater’s problems weren’t because we had to pay real estate taxes. Our
problems were generated by the competition with the suburban multiplexes that
didn’t allow us to show films on an exclusive basis anymore. And it’s a problematic
situation with urban businesses, where similar services can be found more
conveniently in the suburbs at a comparable price. How do you counteract that?
You have to eliminate some of the barriers, one of which is the parking
situation.
It’s sort of angered
me — you know, I’ve always been the person against the East End Festivals.
Nobody’s ever looked into the books of the East End Festival, but it’s a
private corporation. If you’re going to use public streets for personal use,
then there has to be some benefit for the public attached to it. And there has
to be some accountability. You can’t shield yourself by saying, “I’m a private
corporation.” No. You’re using public streets, you’re closing down public
streets.
City: And not everybody in
the East End benefits from the festivals. The screens at the Little practically
go dark those nights.
Coppard: Yeah.
City: Does it bring people
into the café?
Coppard: No. It hurts our business. But that isn’t really the
issue. I am willing to sacrifice business for the good of the whole community,
not the good of a private corporation.
City: But the city likes
it because it brings people downtown.
Coppard: Yeah, but the city’s perception of what downtown needs to
market itself is different from my perception. I think the solutions for
downtown are not all that complicated. They need private investors. They have
to make it more practical for private investors to come downtown and build more
housing units. But interesting housing units. Who knows what the new mayor is going
to do?
City: So who do you like
for mayor, Bill?
Coppard: I won’t put that on record.
City: Then what do you
think should happen at City Hall?
Coppard: I think it’s time for some major changes at City Hall. I’m
not going to put the blame on anybody in particular. I think that Mayor Johnson
made a wise decision not to run again. You’re in that position, facing those
kinds of problems, year in and year out, you face the same kind of frustration
I am, you know? You’re not making the kind of changes, you’re not seeing the
kind of progress you really want. And you’re busting your ass.
And you got a
vision. Maybe your vision isn’t right, but it’s your vision. And if you’re not
fulfilling your vision, it’s a frustrating experience. So now it’s time for
somebody else’s vision, whether it’s Wade’s vision or Tim’s vision.
City: But often when
there’s a change in leadership, people feel that it’s just a change in the face
and nothing really gets done.
Coppard: Well, that’s what can’t happen. I think there has to be
some major changes internally in the departments at City Hall. If you’re
running a department, it’s your vision, in cooperation with the mayor. But I
feel that a lot of people take working at City Hall for granted and they don’t
understand that you’ve got a responsibility to perform.
You have a
wonderful opportunity to work for an employer who provides very good pay and
very good benefits and very good retirement. So you’ve got to perform. And I
think some of the people have frankly been there too long. I sit on the Board
of Assessment Review.
City: Oh, you still do
that?
Coppard: Yeah. I got elected to Chairman. That’s why I don’t want
to move out of the city.
I think I did a
really good job this year because — I’m really an ombudsman for the City in a
way, trying to understand the taxpayers’ frustrations, trying to be a good
mediator, and I think we were really successful doing that this year. But no
one on City Council, in all the years I’ve been on the Board of Assessment
Review, has ever visited the board to see how it performs. They appoint us, but
nobody ever monitors us.
And what you’re
seeing is a constant decrease in the city’s taxable value. Every time a house
gets torn down, it’s a loss of potential tax revenue. And it’s happening more
and more often. So the city is shrinking in its ability to pay its bills as the
cost of running a government increases. There’s got to be a more efficient way
of running a city like Rochester.
I think that
Mayor Johnson aggravated a lot of people when he started talking about
consolidation of metro government. But the message, I think, was true: We have
to find a more efficient way of running government. And we have to, as a
community, make certain sacrifices to the benefit of the whole community. And
that means giving up a little of your territory. Maybe consolidation of the
fire departments.
Schools is
really the thing that people cherish and they’re not willing to get into —
not willing to lose control. There’s probably a way of making schools more
efficient. Through purchasing, for instance. Or do you really need a
superintendent for every single district? There could probably be some
consolidation of administrations but still maintain the independence.
But I don’t see
this community facing these big issues. I think Renaissance Square is a
disaster. I really do. You’re taking six acres of downtown real estate off the
tax rolls. People are afraid to be naysayers to a project that’s going to get
millions of dollars in federal and state funds, it’s going to create
construction jobs. But I just don’t think it’s a well-planned project.
City: Whatever happened
with the Cultural Center?
Coppard: I quit the Cultural Center Commission because I was really
sort of angry at the mayor.
City: Is it still an
ongoing thing?
Coppard: Yeah. The Cultural Commission is really a real estate
developer; they own real estate, they sell real estate. They have one parcel
left, at the corner of Gibbs and Main. And that’s it; after that point I think
they should disband the Cultural Commission.
Because
the Cultural Commission generates income through the East End Garage. And that
money can be used for downtown development as far as infrastructure —
streetlights, sidewalks, and things like that — the city says they don’t have
money for, instead of spending the money on administration costs. It’s not
necessary, I don’t think, anymore.
City: What are you going
to do after your retirement takes effect on July 1?
Coppard: I’m going to hang out in the country for a while, fix up
my house. Spend some time in New York at my little apartment.
You know, I
don’t want to be a volunteer, is one thing I won’t be. I’ve sort of volunteered
a lot of time and effort to the Little Theatre over many, many years.
City: But you know they’re
going to want to pick your brain.
Coppard: I don’t want to be a volunteer or have any commitments.
Whatever I’m in, I want to be involved in a really creative environment.
I think that’s
the hard part about Rochester is that it’s really, really lost sight of who
they are and where they want to be. It’s a hard place to stay; there’s just not
that kind of creative excitement.
A
lot of it has to do with the political environment. I don’t think the young
people are active enough in the political environment; they really don’t care.
How many people under 30 really care who’s going to be elected mayor? How many
people know who’s on City Council or know that City Council has the potential
to make lives better for city residents? They don’t care. They’re out for
themselves.
City: It’s not surprising
that they don’t care. Most of them are probably banking on the fact that they
won’t be living here in five years. Or whatever’s happening doesn’t directly
affect their day-to-day life.
Coppard: Exactly. Exactly. I’ve always thought about running for
political office. But I said, “No way.” I think I’d have a hard time making the
changes now.
City: I couldn’t see that
at all. That would be so frustrating for you.
Coppard: It would be a disaster. You know, I love the city. I feel
it’s got tremendous potential. I’m frustrated because I don’t see the kind of
enthusiasm that should be here for a city that has so many attributes.
City: Well, it’s probably
frustrating for everyone trying to get something done because everyone else has
agendas of their own.
Coppard: We’re very much a me-oriented society. I feel so fortunate
in life. I really do. I’ve been able to make good money investing, just doing
my own thing. And I honestly feel that I’ve always tried to make decisions and
think about the other person. And I don’t feel — and other people may
disagree with me — that I’ve ever screwed anybody.
I’m pretty sure
people that worked at the theater didn’t like me and left. I’m sorry. It’s my
business and I created it. And I had a vision. If your vision is different than
mine I was willing to listen to you. But, you know, go and start your own movie
theater. Do it in Philadelphia, do it in Pittsford, do it in Rochester, if you
want to.
City: What would you like
your legacy to be?
Coppard: I don’t know… “legacy” sounds egotistical.
City: Well, I guess you’d
want to know you made a difference.
Coppard: You know, what I really feel — and this is between you
and I, and you can paraphrase it any way you want so I don’t look egotistical
— you know when you did something right in your life and you know when you
did something wrong in your life. And I think I did something right in your
life.
City: I don’t think that’s
egotistical at all. Otherwise why would you continue to do something?
Coppard: I made the personal sacrifices so that we could have
something in Rochester that’s really, really special.
City: Why?
Coppard: Because I’m an artistic person and a creative person. And,
you know, to me — years ago in the 1970s I wrote a letter to a national real
estate magazine which was rejected, and I said that the criteria for entering
the real estate business is wrong. It’s skewed; it’s skewed towards money. Of
course that’s a major factor if anybody’s going to go into any business, but
it’s not the only criteria.
I think more
emphasis should be put on the fact that you’re in a profession that can have a
great deal of social significance. It can change people’s lives. It can change
neighborhoods. Real estate brokers can take their expertise into places like the
South Wedge, encouraging people to move there, helping them with certain
housing programs and finding out how to get rehab money, create a neighborhood
environment and essentially change neighborhoods.
But they
rejected that letter, said it wasn’t of interest to their readers, which really
said something to me about the industry. Because that’s what it is, it’s a
money industry.
City: Is that why you
chose to scale back on it and become a theater owner?
Coppard: Yeah, because I realized when I was in real estate — I
was an independent and the business was going towards franchising; it was
becoming too slick for me. I thought that real estate was a wonderful thing
where someone could maintain their own independence, their own style.
Franchising wasn’t really necessary, but in reality, that’s where the industry
was going.
But, you know, I
wanted a new challenge. I wanted to do something that people thought couldn’t
be done. And everybody thought that an art theater in Rochester, an independent
theater, would be an instant failure. It failed before. And I just knew that I
wouldn’t fail.
City: Were you a big fan
of movies at that time?
Coppard: Yeah, but not a movie geek like you are. I enjoyed movies,
sure, but I didn’t have time to go to the movies; I worked seven days a week.
City: Where would you have
seen movies that would have shown at a theater like the Little? How did you
know they were out there?
Coppard: Well, you know, just from a marketing standpoint I read
the New York Times and I saw a lot of
movies that were showing in New York weren’t coming to Rochester. So my pure
interest really evolved out of a business decision: Yes, this is a business
plan that would work. So you got any more questions? You all done?
City: I would like to say
that I think you need a haircut.
Coppard: You always say that.
City: It’s true, though.
Coppard: Yeah, I’m probably ready for one.
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2005.
